A Fully Electronic Journal of Neurology
Available on the Internet

Keith H. Chiappa, M.D.,

Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

Current neurological journals, all in print format, are not compatible with the pace of contemporary medicine. Publication lags of 6-9 months are the rule and there is no possibility of a dynamic dialogue concerning a paper in the weeks after its publication. Paper journals must come by mail (expensive and slow), take up considerable space (much of it is of no interest to a particular individual) and are easily lost (especially the one you need). Therefore, The MIT Press has launched a completely electronic journal, Neurology & Clinical Neurophysiology , which is available on the Internet. The journal has a broad scope encompassing both clinical and basic science topics of human neurology in health and disease, and related fields, and pertinent studies in other species.

In addition to original clinical and research articles, the journal will publish selected views and reviews, 'pros' and 'cons' debates on controversial topics, book reviews, a newsletter and calendar of events in neurology and related fields, and classified ads (e.g., professional job opportunities, fellowships).

A large editorial board of senior scientists and clinicians from all areas of neurology has been assembled to manage the review process. Articles undergo a blinded review process in which evidence of authorship and origin are removed as much as possible. When a manuscript is received, the editor/associate editor assigns it to one or more member(s) of the editorial board for review and to one or more external reviewer(s), the latter selected in consultation with the board member(s). The reviews are due in 2 weeks and upon their receipt the editor/associate editor, in consultation with the board member, makes the final decision regarding publication, modification or rejection. Letters to the editor are reviewed by the editor/associate editor and the board member(s) who reviewed the manuscript. The aim is for a 1 month publication time from the date of submission.

ARTICLE-BY-ARTICLE PUBLICATION

The journal is published article-by-article as soon as each is ready, with articles numbered consecutively through the calendar year (e.g. 1995:2). After the review and the editorial processes the article will then be available in HTML and PDF formats from the Press's fileserver via WWW or native FTP. Non-subscribers are able to browse through the abstracts via Internet but do not have access to the full article. Subscribers are notified of the presence of a new article with the notification including the article number, title, author, abstract, and location. Subscribers identify their key areas of interest so that notification is tailored to their specific needs. Subscribers have unlimited access to the published articles as well as the backfile of articles. Libraries have liberal use of the material within their local campus environments. The journal is archived at the MIT Libraries and the Scholarly Communications Project at Virgina Polytechnic Institute. The standard indexing and abstracting services are expected to include the journal in their guides to research.